The Life And Times Of Young Justice
by Hezpeller
Summary: A collection of requested fics, usually in the form of one-shots, detailing the many adventures that Young Justice has in their times together. This collection will deal with friendships, sometimes romance, and at times, just a character alone. Also includes AUs and scrapped fic ideas.
1. Birdflash: Boredom and Pizza Receipts

**So! This will be where I put all my request fics, and they'll be in the form of one-shots, unless of course I state otherwise.**

**They will not be related with one another, but I don't really feel like creating a new story for every request I do :P  
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**This collection will deal with friendships, and sometimes romance, and at times, just a character alone.**

**I will state in the chapter title who the chapter is about.**

**For example, this one is 'KFxR: Boredom and Pizza Receipts.'**

**And I will also provide a small synopsis at the beginning of the chapter.**

**So this one is: **_Wally is bored, so Dick devises a plan to entertain the two of them._**  
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**Alright! So, yeah, this is not the fic anyone was expecting to get updated, and I do think these two have a great friendship!**

**So, this isn't slash! So no complaints about that.**

**This was a fic requested by YoungJLi, as a prize for winning 3rd place in June's VotM. The request was friendship fic with Rob and KF, so here it is!**

**I don't own anything, big surprise, and please enjoy!**

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><p>==Mount Justice<p>

Dick and Wally were hiding. Why? Because they were in deep, deep trouble.

"So, you still think this wasn't whelming?" Dick smirked, his sunglasses reflecting the little light they had.

Wally scoffed. "Are you kidding me? This was the best plan ever."

==Earlier that day

Dick and Wally were sitting on the beach, enjoying the fact that, since they had some time without the whole team in attendance for once, they'd take advantage of that and have some quality bro-time. Not that they minded being with the team, or in Wally's case, most of the team, but sometimes, just spending time with your best bud had its' benefits. However-

"I'm bored." Wally sighed.

"But we just got here!" Dick exclaimed, sitting up from where he was lounging on the sand.

"Yeah, but, I want to do something fun!"

Dick raised his eyebrow. "What do you consider as 'fun?'" Dick asked, gesturing the quotation marks around the last word.

Wally crossed his arms across his chest and huffed, "I don't know, you think up of something."

Dick smirked as he drawled, "Well, I did have a couple of things in mind."

"Why do I not like the tone of your voice?" Wally asked, sounding suspicious.

"Because you're too whelmed by my skills."

Wally groaned. "You and butchering the English language. Seriously dude."

Dick scoffed. "Scratch that, you're jealous of my skills."

Wally groaned. "As if! Now, what's your brilliant plan? Because for me to argue, I'll just call the Goddess of Fighting."

Dick giggled. "Impatient much? Anyway, here's what I had in mind..."

After Dick finished explaining, Wally was gaping. "That's suicidal!"

"And so what if it is, are you in?" Dick questioned.

Wally smiled "I have to see this in action."

==Some hours later

Roy was confused. The League knew he was doing his solo act, so why was he receiving a message from Batman for help? He re-read the message once again:

_Roy-_

_Important mission. Shadows. Come quick to Mt. Justice_

_Batman_

He had to admit he was intrigued, but suspicious at the same time.

"Recognized: Speedy B-06" The computerized voice chimed out.

Roy ground his teeth together. What did he have to do to change the settings of that stupid announcer! He had tried nearly everything! His solution now? Kicking the machine.

However, that only gave him a blinding pain to his toes, and the machine to repeat her previous statement, angering Roy further.

He punched the machine's front, smashing the control panel, and the machine began to repeat her announcement at regular intervals.

Roy groaned. "Great." He then turned towards the main room, and found it empty. "What the-"

"Red Arrow." Batman's gravelly voice came from everywhere, and nowhere at the same time.

"Yes?" Roy replied icily.

"We have urgent need for your services." Batman explained.

"What part of solo act don't you get?"

"You've had the most experience with the Shadows."

Roy scoffed. "As if."

"Regardless," Batman cut him off. "You need to go to the Happy Harbour Pier to talk with a potential informant, and then, return here."

"Argh, why-"

"No questions, just do it."

"So-"

"No Questions!"

"Alright, fine. Sheesh Bats, get a vacation-"

"GO NOW!"

Roy turned around and left, mumbling about something or other, and to further aggravate him, the machine was still repeating her greeting.

"Will someone fix this contraption?" Roy exclaimed to what he thought was an empty room, and left.

==Tech Room

If there was one word to describe Wally and Dick, it'd be hysterical. Thanks to Dick's genius, they'd used a software to imitated Batman's voice, and they managed to trick the angry archer to go on a fool's errand.

"Oh man, that was priceless!" Wally guffawed.

"The way he got angry at the machine-"

"That was the best part!"

"And he actually believed that he was talking to Bats!"

"Dude, you really outdid yourself this time with Bat's voice."

"Enough to be whelmed?"

"As if! Now be prepared to be mazed by my voice acting skills."

"Uhm, leave the 'butchering' to me. You just told me that you'll bore me-"

"Right, whatever dude, just watch and learn."

"Suit yourself." Dick shrugged, and, typing some fancy code into the computer, and the Happy Harbour Pier came into the screen's view.

==Happy Harbour Pier

Roy was officially pissed. Why the informant had to pick the pier on the busiest day was beyond him! He went inside the building, to thankfully find it deserted. The last thing he wanted was to have a 'Where's Waldo' with the informant.

"Hello?" Roy called out.

"Who's there?" A voice replied.

"I'm here to pick up some information from you...if I could see you." Roy explained.

"I have to stay anonymous, or the Shadows will _kill_ me!" The informant's anguished voice cried out.

_Great, a drama queen._ Roy internally groaned. He outwardly replied with, "Ok, yeah, sure, it seems today's the day for bodiless voices."

"So, are you the connection?" The man asked.

"Didn't I just demand for information?" Roy groaned. He then continued with, "What else would I be doing here?"

"You could be part of the Shadows, trying to get information from me!"

Roy blinked. "Right, well it's not the case, I'm just the connection, or whatever you want it to be."

"Anything?" The informant asked, and Roy could hear a playfulness intonation behind it.

Before Roy could reply to it, he heard a scuffle coming from the informant.

"Ouch! Hey, watch it! What!- oh ooops."

"Everything alright there?" Roy asked sceptically.

"Yes! Everything is perfectly fine! Just take this very important file, it includes information crucial to your superiors."

"They're not my superiors." Roy growled.

"Right, right, of course they're not." The informant scoffed, his reply laced with sarcasm.

"They're not." Roy repeated, his eyes narrowing.

"Whatever makes you sleep at night, champ."

"Can you just give me the damn file!" Roy exclaimed.

"Sure! Sure, any minute now, hang on...why isn't this working? I am pressing the button! Are you blind? I'm pressing the button! Ohhh, why make a button that doesn't work?"

Roy concluded that the informant was definitely mad. Before he could say anything else, he found himself dodging a folder attached by a string to a brick.

"Woah! What is this? I'm not a target practise!" Roy exclaimed.

"Sorry, but _someone_ here didn't calibrate the spring thingy!" The informant exclaimed.

"Spring thingy?" Roy repeated, disbelief clear in his voice.

"Yes, a very advanced scientific innovation-"

"Right," Roy interrupted the informant, rolling his eyes. He picked up the file folder, and began to leaf through the pages. Well they weren't pages exactly, "Why is the folder filled with pizza receipts?"

"WHAT?" Another voice was faintly heard exclaiming.

"Yes! It's in a code. Just in case you're not who you say you are." The informant explained.

"Pizza receipts are code. Right, well, how about you answer some questions for me-"

"Send him back! I don't know how, you're the tech expert! What do you mean it's my fault? You're the one who planned this! I agreed because I was being a good friend! Dude! Send, Him, Back!"

Roy narrowed his eyes, about to give the good for nothing 'informant(s)' a piece of his mind for wasting his day, before he felt the familiar tingling sensation of a teleporter.

Next thing Roy knew, he was staring at a very angry Justice League, with Batman at the helm, his characteristic bat-glare ever so present.

"Let me guess." Roy sarcastically started. "I'm being irresponsible in some form or way."

"What in the world have you been doing Roy?" Green stepped forward, his arms out, looking confused. "We've been getting reports from all over the Justice League-"

"What have I been doing? I could ask you guys the same thing! Pizza receipts, the Pier in the middle of its fair, and the text message? I'm not some entertainment form!" Roy exclaimed.

"What do pizza receipts have to do with us?" Flash asked, puzzled.

"That I was sent on a wild goose chase!" Roy concluded.

"We" Batman intoned, "Haven't done anything."

"I never said you did! I was talking about your little sidekicks!" Roy fumed.

Flash turned to Green Arrow. "When did they stop being friends?"

Dick and Wally, from the Tech room, were hearing everything and, though no one could hear them, monotonously replied, "When he started PMSing."

Back at the Watchtower, Roy furiously stalked up to the teleportation computers. "Don't try to stop me."

==Tech Room

Dick and Wally were curious as to where Roy was going.

"Probably back home." Dick guessed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Bummer, I'd have liked to see him try to explain to Bats as to why there was such a huge bill in their name for about 300 pizzas worldwide."

"Speaking of which, how could you mess that up! You weren't supposed to put the bills in the folder!"

Wally checked his back pocket where a bunch of sheets were neatly folded. "Oooh, I thought that was your homework or something."

"No, it wasn't!" Dick sighed exasperated.

"Dude, can you shut that teleporter off? It's really beginning to annoy me."

"To the contrary, it just makes it easier to sneak up on you!" Roy was standing in the doorway, fuming.

"Hey Roy! How was the Pier?" Wally sheepishly asked, shoving his hands deep in his pockets.

"Busy, and let's not forget the poor indecisive man I had to deal with!" Roy added in a voice that just promised hell on earth for the two of them.

"That must've sucked." Dick grinned.

"Oh yeah, it did big time, especially when I found out who were the two ventriloquists!"

"Actually Roy, we were here the whole time-" Wally started to explain.

"Does it really matter? Oh you guys are going to pay."

Dick was nearing Wally, slowly but surely, and Wally understood what Dick was trying to do, and replied to Roy. "Actually, you paid for all those pizzas, using your Justice League card."

"What?" Roy exclaimed, completely lost.

"A card Roy, you know, like a credit card?' Dick elaborated.

"Don't tell me you've never had one!" Wally added with mock shock.

"I don't have a Justice League Card!" Roy shook his head.

Dick and Wally turned to one another, shocked.

"So whose card did you take?" Dick asked Wally.

Wally took out the card from his wallet. "Oh crap."

Roy looked at the card. "No wonder he was so pissed."

There in Wally's hand, was Batman's card.

"Nice job Wally." Dick groaned.

"Oh you two are so dead now!" Roy guffawed.

"Gotta catch us first!" Wally exclaimed, grabbing Dick and running off.

"Why you little- Get back here!" Roy's words were nearly lost to the two younger teens as they ran off at super speed.

==Back to the present

"So, how long do you think it'll take until they find us?" Dick wondered, looking around at their current hiding spot.

"Dude, we're hiding in Megan's closet, if she finds find out, Megan will not only have a field day, but will also join the chase." Wally groaned.

"For the record, you're the one that decided to cover us in all the pink frilliness." Dick disgustedly pointed out.

"And you're the one that came up with this whole plan!"

Dick gaped. "I just wanted to prank Roy! Not involve the whole League!"

"Ohhh, so I shouldn't have-"

"I HATE MONKEYS!" Superboy's feral growl was heard from down the hall, and simian noises were also heard as the clone attacked the primate.

"Right, now all we need to do is get the rest of the team pissed and then we'll have a full plate." Dick groaned.

"Hey, we're already screwed, so why not finish the job?" Wally smirked.

"You're on!" Dick nodded.

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><p><strong>So! That concludes this little one shot!<strong>

**Presumably, the two continue on unleashing hell on the rest of the team :D**

**And of course, poor Roy was the subject of their prank, with his PMS problems :P**

**It was too hard to _not_ put him, so therefore, this is the result!**

**As for how Wally got mixed up with Batman and Roy's supposed card, that's beyond me, but for the sake of the story, it worked out like that.**

**And am I the only one that thinks that the machine won't have changed the Speedy to Red Arrow, and will continue to annoy him till the end of time?  
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**I hope everyone enjoyed it, and if not, let me know why!**

**Reviews and constructive crits are very appreciated!**

**Hezpeller**


	2. MartianBird: A Secret Recipe

**Okay, so for those that didn't read the new blurb from the first chapter, this became a one-shot ****collection, so that I don't have to keep creating a new story every time I do a one shot.**

**In other words, this was previously known as 'Boredom And Pizza Receipts.'  
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**Alright, so this one shot is with Megan and Robin, as requested by SoulEaterFan13**

**And the synopsis is: **_Robin is just relaxing at the mountain, until Megan stomps inside. What could be eating the Martian girl so much? Robin intends to find out._**  
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**I do apologize in advance for any potential complaints about how the two act...in my defense, they have had less than 10 words of conversation...and that was the KF with a bloody nose conversation, and the 'bad guys know that we know' or something to that effect.**

**And I tried my best to not make her a second Starfire, so I hope that shows.  
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**catpatch30: Thank you! Yeah, I agree, I think they're wonderful as friends! They seem like people that will remain best friends for eternity.**

**Scotty1609: I'm glad you enjoyed that!**

**TheWickedWizardOfOz: Pfft, well, he doesn't like to get too technical :D Hmm, yeah, I can totally see that happening. Thanks! Yep, Roy's attitude totally makes for good entertainment.**

**Inscriber: Well, thanks! I'm honoured you think it's comical!**

**Reina Grayson: Oh yes, they totally are.**

**Asa88: Haha, thank you! Oh yeah, Robin is one of a kind :D **

**lilmissfashionista:Well, it's true! He got issues after the first ep! And thanks!**

**I don't own anything, who'd have thought? Please enjoy!**

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><p>Robin sighed contentedly. No school for today, which meant he could just chill at the Mountain, and then when everyone got back, he could hang out with everyone, and then maybe play some video games with Wally, or something.<p>

He sat down on the couch, getting ready to watch some TV, when the teleporter chimed that Megan had come in.

Robin looked at the clock. It was only 11:30, so why was she here?

He turned his head towards the doorway as he heard Megan stomp her way into the kitchen, a deep scowl on her face.

"Uh Megan?" Robin asked, trying to see if he could get a response from the Martian.

She completely ignored him, and started to take things out of the fridge with much vigour.

Robin sighed, and stood up, walking over to the kitchen, and wondered if the proximity would help. "Megan!"

But alas, Megan continued to whip things out, but even more energetically than before. He dodged some eggs flying out, and wondered what had gotten into his teammate.

"Hello? Megan!" Robin exclaimed.

Megan jumped up, and looked at Robin, at first with surprise, and then sighed. "Hey Robin."

"So, um, aren't you supposed to be in school?" Robin asked.

Megan shook her head. "We got off early."

Robin nodded. "So where's Conner?"

"He went with Kaldur to buy some clothes. Apparently, he's already gone through most, if not all the shirts that he had." Megan smiled a bit.

Robin also shared a smile. He was sure that Superboy was making someone very rich with all the shirts he'd buy. "So why didn't you go with them?"

"Shopping for guy stuff isn't my thing, plus, I'm not really in the mood today." Megan sighed, closing the fridge door, and walking over to the counter to start cooking something.

"Oh?" Robin exclaimed, surprised. It must be something bad for Megan to not want to hang out with Superboy, or even go shopping! Even if it was guy stuff.

"Robin, have you ever been bullied?" Megan asked, taking out a cookbook.

Robin's eyes widened under his sunglasses. "Why? Are you being bullied?"

"No, it's just that, there are some people that are bullied because they're different. Because they're the minority." Megan now started pouring ingredients into the bowl.

Robin grimaced. "Yeah, I know all about it."

"So, you've had that happen to you?" Megan asked, beginning to stir the contents.

"No! No, that doesn't happen to me." Robin coughed, trying to sound confident. "No, but I've seen some guys get bullied because they're the charity cases."

Megan looked puzzled, and stopped stirring. "Charity cases?"

"Yeah." Robin nodded. "They're the kids who only enter our school because they got a scholarship, or they have friends in high places, that kind of stuff."

"Oh." Megan looked crestfallen. "I saw injustice with such topics happening a lot on Mars, but I thought on Earth it'd be different. I mean, I knew bullying existed, but it's exactly the same here as there. They'd never be accepted into this society."

"Oh yeah, the white minorities right?" Robin remembered the campfire story Megan had told them. He was meanwhile watching as to what Megan was adding to the concoction, and he was sure that what the Martian girl was cooking was relatively hazardous. He also made a mental note to warn Wally about this, before the Speedster rushed in eating whatever Megan had made, unless he wanted to be eating cookies with egg shells in them, among other things.

"Yes. I don't understand why people that are different have to be treated so differently." Megan sighed.

"I don't really know why either. It's one of those things you can't really explain, but they're just there, and nothing makes it go away. Don't worry though," Robin smiled. "At least the White Martians have a chance to redeem themselves."

"I hope so." Megan smiled. "But that still doesn't explain why there are some kids being bullied because they're smarter-"

"Or different. Trust me Megan, the best they can do is just ignore it, and move on. They usually end up giving up if you don't give them the time of day." Robin smiled.

However, Megan didn't agree with this as the wooden spoon she had been using all of a sudden snapped in half, and the various splinters were now mixed in with the baking mixture. "There's no way for u- them to ignore this! They're being pushed around, and nearly stepped on! Unless they become like everyone else, they'll be forever discriminated!"

Robin backed up. "We're not talking about school bullies anymore are we?"

Megan's expression softened. "No, I guess we're not. Sorry, I got a bit distracted there."

Robin looked at the split spoon, and nodded. "Clearly noted."

Megan grimaced, and saw what Robin was referring to. "Oh yeah, sorry about that." She then went to the sink to take out some of the splinters, and see if she could salvage some of the original mixture.

Right then, Wally zipped in, but hadn't yet seen Megan. "Hey Rob, got out of school early too?"

"Nah, I didn't have school today." Robin smirked, wondering how long it'd take the Speedster to notice the Martian girl.

"So you want to go and play- well, Hello Megan!" Wally had finally noticed Megan, and made a beeline for her.

"Hey Wally." Megan smiled shyly, unsure of how to act with Wally. She really did want to continue talking with Robin, since she had never really interacted with the younger boy before, but she found that he shared her opinions, which made it fun to talk with him.

Meanwhile, Wally had been talking the whole time about something that had been happening at school. "- so the idiot actually calls me slow! I mean seriously, I'm Kid Flash! How am I slow?"

Robin smirked. "I can think of a couple of ways."

Wally frowned. "Dude, not cool."

Megan went back to taking out splinters, but then accidentally poked herself with a piece, and yelped.

Wally got into a defensive position as if expecting a monster to have popped out of the fridge. "What happened?"

"Nothing, I just poked my finger." Megan shook it off, and picked up the bowl.

Wally couldn't resist it, and with his finger, scooped up a bit of the uncooked mixture. He made an expression of surprise, and then smiled, a tad bit forcefully. "I like it. It's a bit crunchy, not to mention it's got a hint of wood? What did you use?"

Megan smiled. "Well..."

"It's a secret." Robin intervened. He wondered how long it would take the speedster to figure out just what was in the mixture.

"Oh come on!" Wally pouted.

Megan smiled, and went along with Robin. "Nope, we're not telling you."

"When did you two buddy up?" Wally exclaimed.

"Let's just say that we share the same opinions. " Megan smiled, looking at Robin, who was smirking back at her.

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><p><strong>And that was this little one shot! Once again, I apologize if you didn't like it, but I tried my best here :)<strong>

**Anyway! I have a little announcement:**

This might be the craziest idea by far from me, but oh well.

This is for anyone who writes fanfiction, or is interested in writing.

I am thinking of creating a 'literary series' on Hello Megan. [the mysterious TV show that appears every now and then]

In other words, each chapter would be an episode, and every story [if it does go that far] would be a season.

But I don't think I can do it alone, and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in collaborating with me on this?

To establish some things.

-This has nothing to do with the TV Tropes creation of the same name.

-It will incorporate various canon pairings. [ie, SuperMartian, WallArt, RedShire and the like]

-This will be an Alternate Universe. Meaning that in the actual story, the team Young Justice doesn't exist. Nor do superpowers.

-It won't be an exact retelling of the show, but there might be certain things based off from it.

If anyone is interested, you can either let me know through a review, or send me a PM by going to my profile :)

So, _is_ anyone interested?

It's not first come first serve, so let me know, and I'll see how it goes.

**Anyway, apart from that, I'm trying to update How To Date The Girl, but I have a lot going on now that I'm back at uni :/**

**Comments, and opinions are, of course, always welcome.**

**Hezpeller**


	3. Red Arrow: Of Arrows and Guano

** So, it's been a couple of months huh? 4 months or so?**

**But I finally finished this! A prize I've been owing YoungJLi since July of last year, finally got off my ass and wrote it! Anyway, I hope you like it!**

**Also, thanks to the wonderful people that kept me company on Google Docs: Remi, DamnSmartBlueBoxes, and last but not least: "i like watching you write the story :P its awesome!" aka: awesome aka indie ;)**

**The requested fic is on Roy, but Cheshire, Robin and Wally make their appearance too.**

**Synopsis: **_Roy's trying to catch a thief, but with his arrows stolen, he needs someone's arrows. Too bad the solution won't be easy to find, and it doesn't help that he asked the worst people to guide him._

**Replies to reviews are now done through PM, unless it's an anon so yeah! That's all from me! But to answer Kelsey's review, I'll try my best to see what I can do for your prompt :D**

**Don't forget to leave a review!**

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><p>Roy viewed the scene below, from his vantage point in Star City. Although it was a chilly night out, the young archer felt no need for a jacket, preferring practicality over comfort. He needed to let off steam, the Young Justice League was beginning to get on his nerves. They insisted on getting him to participate in their little debates trying to find their "mole." Why couldn't they see that Artemis was clearly giving out the vibe of not shooting straight? Even Rob knew it, though with Bats as his mentor, it wasn't surprising that he was privileged to that information.<p>

He looked down Main Street and heard the familiar wail of a siren. His eyes narrowed and he picked an arrow off his quiver, notching it, trying to locate the source of the crime.

There, just barely visible, was a shadow moving into the alley beyond 6th. He had the advantage here, and would make use of it. Pulling back, he coordinated the head of the arrow at just the right point across the street, and fired.

Securing the end of the line, he grabbed his bow, and zipped down to the other side. Having reached there, he ran down the rooftop, keeping pace with the unknown villain. Jumping from one rooftop to the next, he noted that his mysterious culprit knew his way around the area very well. Clearly this approach wouldn't work, he'd have to get closer. he found a fire escape, and used that to climb down to street level, landing on a shallow puddle of who-knows-what, and took off again.

By the proximity he recognized the villain, and with a growl, he yelled, "Cheshire!"

The villain turned at hearing her name, stopping, and he heard her chuckle. "Out all by yourself Red? Have you nothing better to do?"

"I'd be able to do so, if you wouldn't steal." Roy replied through gritted teeth.

"Got to make my living somehow, hero." Cheshire replied with a purr, slowly moving back.

"You could make your living doing other pursuits, you know." For every move back the assassin made, Roy would match her moves, desperate to not let her get away again. After the whole Rhealasia incident, he was dying to get a rematch.

"Oh really?"

Roy couldn't help but to ground his teeth at the mock coming from that answer. "Give it up Cheshire, you won't win."

"Typical hero response. But don't you get it? The heroes will never truly win."She walked up to him, very close to him, he could feel her breath tickle his nose.

"What are you doing?" Roy's eyes narrowed under his domino mask, standing stock still like a soldier, trying not to betray the fact she was making him feel very uncomfortable. Why could he not function properly with her around? He just had to grab her wrist, twist them around, and overpower her, but all of that was not possible, she was just so-

Cheshire lifted her mask a bit, and covered his lips with hers, getting Roy's eyes to flutter shut. Then, as soon as the kiss started, he felt like it ended, and opened his eyes to a cloud of smoke.

The archer let out an audible growl as he moved his right hand to grab an arrow and catch that pesky thief once and for all, until he found that there no arrows to be found. "What the- Cheshire!"

He cleared the smoke and saw the woman in question climbing the fire escapes. He reached into his side pouch and extracted a simple tube, with new tech from Queen Industries, acquired just before his fall out with Ollie. It shot out a simple tracking device, and lining it up, shot it straight at her kimono, landing a perfect hit.

Now he could track her, he just needed supplies. Too bad his stash of arrows ran out just the other day, and the next shipment wasn't set to arrive till tomorrow. He couldn't wait till then! He needed revenge now!

But where to get arrows at this time of night? All the stores were closed, and he knew Ollie was busy tonight with Dinah. He shuddered, there was an image he needed to keep out of his mind, a hot date indeed, as Red Tornado called it. Wally surely had something to do with that lingo.

He then realized who would have arrows, and he groaned. He seriously would need a vacation after this.

==Mount Justice

"Recognized, Speedy, B-06" The machine announced.

"My name is not Speedy!" The lone complaint echoed throughout the room.

Not two seconds after the echo subsided, Wally appeared in front of him, eyes wide, and mouth gaping, showcasing the half chewed granola bar he was enjoying. "Roy?"

"Where's Artemis?" He didn't have time to play games, he need the archer's arrows.

"Roy?" The higher toned voice of Robin made him turn towards the source, where the young hacker was walking towards them. "Did you decide to join the team?"

The older teen had to hand it to the kid. Living with Bats and still able to maintain his optimism. "No, I'm looking for Artemis, and would you fix that thing?" He pointed to the entry computer. "It's still calling me Speedy."

The acrobat grinned, walking to the computer in question. Deep down, Roy knew that the team was somehow messing with the computer so that it didn't recognize his name, his new one. He looked back to Wally, who was chewing loudly, not having said a word.

"Wally, where's Artemis?"

Wally first found the need to gulp loudly, finishing his granola bar, then lick his teeth clean. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I need her."

Wally's eyes widened. "Dude! What? Why would you want to date a girl like her!"

"No! I need her arrows!" The archer exclaimed, getting frustrated. "Either you tell me now, or so help me-"

"Chill dude." The speedster put his hands up in surrender. "No need to get all angroy on us."

"All what! ?"

The hacker replied from behind him, poring over the controls. "Angroy, a new term I coined, see, if angry is the normal level of annoyance, then to be more annoyed than that, and since you're always super annoyed, is angROY!"

Roy was losing his patience. He had not signed up for this. "Listen, I just need to know where Artemis is, and I'll leave."

"Hey Roy," Robin called. "You mind helping me out here? I need you to walk under the teleporter, just so I can check if it's working."

Roy sighed. He was going to regret this, he knew he would. He should've went somewhere else. He walked under the arch and-

"Recognized, Speedy, B-06" The teleporter announced, and before Roy could turn around and chew Robin out for it, he disappeared.

"Oh crap." Robin's eyes widened. "I forgot to turn off the teleporter."

"Dude, where did you send him?" Wally rushed over to where his best bud was standing.

Poring over the logs, the hacker groaned. "The Batcave."

"Well, that's not so bad, at least he just has to deal with Bats-"

"No, you don't get it, that teleporter's an old one, a colony of bats housed themselves there, and we had to move the teleporter."

"Roy's going to kill us right?" Wally gulped.

"Wait until he finds out we have no idea where Artemis is. Then he'll roast us alive."

==The Batcave

"Robin!" Roy yelled out, trying to fin his way in the darkness. Where the hell had the Boy Wonder sent him. Luckily he had his flashlight on handy, and turned it on.

Bad idea.

Flocks of bats rushed at him, getting the panicking archer to turn back to the controls...which were covered in bat guano. Scratch that, Roy was considering retiring after this.

As he cleared the panel, cringing at the smell and texture, he turned it on, and then grabbing the flashlight, he threw it a rocky crag, getting the pesky bats to blindly follow the light. Until it hit the rock, broke into a million pieces, and he was thrust into darkness again.

Of course the controller decided to burst into life, bright screen and all. The droppings were leaving a thin coating on him by the time he figured out the coding, and got the portal open.

"Recognized, Speedy, B-06" The machine blurted out.

"I'm not Speedy!" Roy exclaimed as he left the deserted Batcave, ready to lynch two teen sidekicks alive.

"Recognized, Speedy, B-06"

Why twice? Roy wondered with disdain. Wasn't it bad enough that little hacker hadn't figured out how to solve the problem, but he had to be reminded about it too?

Speaking of which, where were those two? He was ready to give them hell for sending him into that hellhole. He found his answer in the middle of the room, a note.

_Roy_

_Sorry for the wild trip to the dark side of the cave. My bad...hope you got back alright._

_PS: We have no idea where Artemis is, just FYI._

The note was crunched in his palm, and a scowl set in. Oh those two would pay, just they wait.

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><p><strong>So yeah!<strong>

**Roy just always seems to get into a bad position with my fics, I really should stop putting him through his paces, but he's too amazing PMSing, and I can just imagine KF and Rob trolling him around. For the good of comedy! I'll be continuing this one shot later on, due to the request of a friend :D**

**And FYI, bat guano is bat droppings, more commonly known as poo.**

**And Angroy! I'm sure most of us have heard about this, if not, I suggest you get a tumblr and start looking up angroy on a buffalo on google XD**

**Anyway, I know, I know, I need to update my other fics, I'm getting there! Inspiration just struck somewhere else I guess :P**

**Hopefully everyone enjoyed this, and don't forget to leave reviews! This poor fic's badly neglected!**

**Hezpeller**


	4. Kid Flash: Hubble's Law

**What is this? An update in such a short time? Indeed it is!  
><strong>

**Actually, this is an older fic, one I did for someone anonymously as a holiday gift, but I decided it'd be worthwhile to put it up here too.  
><strong>

**Not to mention that the actual chances of said receiver actually finding this are slim to none, so no worries about that. Not that I'd get in trouble if she found out! I'm just not really sure about telling her :P I've got a serious case of the shyness...  
><strong>

**Anyway! This is a Wally fic! **Well, Wally, and whoever he's having the date with.**So although I wrote KF, Wally's the Flash on here.  
><strong>

**Summary: **_Wally's late for a date, and tries speeding his way there, but an officer stops him. What's a Speedster to do in order to get out of this?_

**This was based on a "asofterworld" comic thing...I seriously don't know how to describe those, but it's like a set of 3 images, with some captions telling a story.  
><strong>

**And the one that the gift receiver wanted, went like this:**

_It freaks me out when I think about how big the universe is._

_Just so big and growing bigger, exploding outward constantly in all directions_

_So no, I don't care how fast I was going, officer._

**And hence, this fic came from it! If you want to search it up for yourselves, just do a search of "a softer world 705" and you'll find it :)  
><strong>

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><p>If there was one word to describe Wally West, it'd be distracted. He was going to be late for a lunch date downtown, and was therefore speeding through the highway in his old red car trying to get there at a reasonable time. He knew he was going over the speed limit, but he also knew that if he missed this, he'd have hell to pay. He hardly had time to put on his cologne this morning, nearly mistaking it for the bug spray, but that's what happened when you tried to freshen up in the garage, you made a bigger mess in the end. Of course, he could have just went there as the Flash, and changed in an alleyway, but speeding back home in his arms might not be the best way to end a romantic day.<p>

He was brought back to reality as he zoomed by a sign, although blurred by the speed he was going, it indicated he was five miles from the downtown exit. Wally smiled. He'd get there in time, he was sure of it!

A siren rang in the air, and the Speedster looked in his rear-view mirror. A cruiser, and he was sure they weren't flagging down the old granny he just passed a few seconds ago, puttering along in her Oldsmobile. He veered off to the curb and parked his car, taking a deep breath. He was in trouble now.

An officer around 40 something, Wally hazarded, stepped out of the vehicle, a scowl set in his face, along with a belly that told him he had one too many beers and donuts in his lengthy patrols, and a sneer in his mouth that promised the Speedster this guy didn't take bullshit for an answer. Said officer thumped on the roof of the car, prompting Wally to lower his window.

The officer huffed, indignant. "So, Scarlet Speedster, you have any idea how fast you were goin'!"

Wally blanched, thinking the man somehow figured out he was the Flash, until he realized he was probably referring to the red car he was driving. He closed his eyes trying to calm himself. He didn't have time for this! He glanced at the police officer, noting the name tag Stevens. He had to do something!

"You know what freaks the hell out of me, Officer Stevens? How big the universe is. You think you see the horizon down there, but it's really not even close" He pointed through the window straight forward, prompting said man to follow his line of sight.

Stevens shook his head, trying to bring the conversation back to a normal topic, wondering what maniacal lunatic he was talking to. "I need to see your license and registration buddy."

But Wally seemed to be in a tangent of his own. "The universe is so big, and growing bigger!" His hands, then resting on top of the steering wheel, fingertips touching, now slowly expanded, as if showcasing his point.

The officer rolled his eyes, before pinching his temple, trying to abate the coming headache. "Sir, I really don't-"

Wally's eyes widened, hands flailing, voice getting louder, making the car slowly shake from the commotion. "And it'll never stop! It'll just keep exploding in all directions! So really, for every minute we talk, my date, which is some 5 miles away from here, is actually getting farther away! More than 4 quintillion times farther!"

Officer Stevens was now stupefied. He was now heavily considering calling an asylum, but he doubted even Gotham's Arkham could cure this lunatic.

Wally turned back to the man in the police uniform, grinning as he saw the bewildered man standing there. "So no, I don't care how fast I was going Officer Stevens, because you see, I now have to go faster, in order to get to my destination on time."

Officer Stevens could only gape as the young adult revved his engine, and then smiled. "It's called Hubble's law, Officer Stevens, look it up."

Wally looked through his rear-view mirror as he sped off, leaving one police officer to contemplate his place in the universe, while he congratulated himself on a well executed plan. Officer Stevens probably thought him a nutcase, but at least he was going to be a timely nutcase, with a date.

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><p><strong>And that was this one shot! Shorter than my usual ones, but I think the length is pretty good for this storyline.<br>**

**I don't know what's more surprising, the fact I made a gift based on astronomy, or that I did complex math on Christmas. I hope I got the math right, that distance that Wally says turns out being 4,524,939,682,093,874,331.1540937500502**

**Which is about 4 quintillions. Yes, that is a real measurement. And yes, Hubble Law is a real thing. And no, I don't like astronomy. Just clearing that up.  
><strong>

**That's all from me so far! I'll be updating this and Notches more frequently, that way I keep everyone entertained while I finish my full on fics :)**

**Also, I purposely didn't reveal who Wally's date was, I didn't want to influence this one way or another. And just reminding that Wally is older in this, which is why he's the Flash, and driving a car.**

**Don't forget to leave a review!  
><strong>

**Hezpeller**


	5. SuperMartian: Lost Boy

**Alright, so I had posted this on tumblr before Earthlings was released, but I wasn't too far off on that Conner broke up with Megan!**

**As for the reason, I'm clearly off, but anyway! **

**We've seen fics on what could've happened to Spitfire, but not too many on how SuperMartian broke up, so here's my rendition on what could've happened. I'm not sure how great I am with angst, but I sought to try it, since the plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone.**

**I tried my best to keep it to canon, so not all the characters are mentioned, and Lagoon Boy's still not entirely a clear-cut character. Thanks to everyone that came to the doc, and to DSBB for helping me pick out a name for this story!**

**Summary: **_Conner's noting that everyone else seem to have changed, but he's still the same, and it's causing some problems._

**I'll try to get reviews answered as soon as I can guys, but meanwhile, enjoy, and please leave a review!**

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><p>All he needed now was green tights and red hair, Conner wryly mused to himself as he headed off to nowhere in the cave.<p>

You could say it all started a couple of years ago, when Conner noted that he was no longer looking down at Rob- Nightwing.

==Mount Justice, 3 years ago

"Hey, SB!" He'd heard a voice call his name, turned around and saw Nightwing walking up to him. Of course, he still hadn't gotten used to the somewhat deeper voice, but he knew all about puberty leading to voice changes and growth spurts, among other things.

"Yeah?" Conner stopped walking and cocked an eyebrow, prompting the younger boy to talk. Only when they were nearly a foot away from each other, did he notice that the angle he usually looked down at Nightwing was no longer at his face, but rather the upper area of his chest. "You've uhm, grown."

Nightwing let out his infamous cackle, and nodded. "Yeah, a couple of inches in only a day!"

"Huh, have I grown too?" Conner hadn't really noted his own growth, now that he thought about it, but if the ex-Boy Wonder was growing so quickly, so would he, right?

The younger boy cocked his head a bit to the side, as if trying to find a good angle from which to give him an answer. After a couple of seconds of silence, he shook his head. "Nope, sorry, I don't see it, but anyway, do you know where the Super Cycle's at?"

Conner's shoulders sagged a bit, but he pushed the thought aside. "Yeah, Tornado took to have it fixed or something, it should be back later on tonight I guess."

As he turned to leave, he shoved his hands deep in his pockets, and wondered why he wasn't growing. He was a clone of Superman, so shouldn't he be growing and eventually turning into an identical copy of the Man of Steel?

He went to his room to grab his brown jacket and to change into a nondescript black shirt, then approached the entrance and typed in Metropolis, going off to ask the man himself.

==Metropolis

Clark Kent sighed, sitting down on the park bench and closing his eyes, his stress levels going sky high. It apparently wasn't enough that the League was on his case about fixing the huge dent that some random minor aliens made with their spaceship, but the Daily Planet wanted some major stories about something or other.

"Uhm, hey, Clark, got a minute?"

Clark heard the unmistakable voice of his clone, and opened his eyes, not even sure how to ask how the younger man had found him. "Sure thing, Conner, uh, what's wrong?"

Conner sat down on the bench beside the older man, resting his elbows on his thighs, not sure how to word his question. "Wha- why aren't I growing?"

Clark did a double-take. "Wait, what? I'm not quite sure I get what you're saying?"

"I mean, I've been thinking about it, and it's been two years, everyone else has grown up, even Nightwing, who was always the little guy, is now almost as tall as I am! Even M'gann's growing taller, little by little. But I'm still the same height, same build, not even my hair's grown that much."

Clark was certainly not expecting to play psychiatrist to his clone but he smiled a bit, this was simple enough to handle. "Well, not everyone grows at the same time, Conner, just wait for a bit, you'll have your own growth spurt soon enough."

"You think?" Conner looked up, his face showing signs of hope.

Clark then noted that Conner really was like a kid at times, with the way his face lit up, and he nodded. "Why, of course, when I was about your age, I wasn't that much taller either…"

==Watchtower, 6 months later

"What?"

"You heard me, the boy won't grow up."

"But that's impossible, Bruce, are you sure the tests-"

"They were double checked by some people at Star Labs, as well as by our scientifical prodigies within the League."

"How is it possible? Everyone grows up sometime."  
>"Not Conner. It's a side effect from his specific cloning process. He was built to be a weapon, not to grow. Which is why everyone else is towering over him, while Conner remains the exact same. It's just how it works."<p>

"And there's no way-"

"No, we've checked. He's stuck like that, forever."

"I should probably go tell him then." Clark sighed with an air of finality, and walked out of the room, wondering how he would break it to Conner that he'd remain in the body of a 16 year-old for the rest of his life.

==Mount Justice, 1 year ago

Conner gritted his teeth at the new group, crossing his arms and looking away as they trained. He hated how the fish bait was making moves at M'gann. He might not know much about flirting, but after so many years with Wally, he could pick out who was the guy that thought himself as the next big thing.

La'gaan was a tall, sort of muscular guy, though not as muscular as he was, Conner was proud to point out. The guy prided himself on trying to get the important jobs, to show off his skills to everyone, proving his worth or something. Clearly, he wasn't too bright, since he didn't get the point that M'gann was not up for grabs.

He heard his girlfriend laugh, and looked back in surprise. It had been a while that he'd made her laugh that much, and he saw that La'gaan was standing beside her, sporting a confident smile as he supposedly told a good joke.

As for M'gann, her eyes were closed and her mouth was open, dimples clearly outlined, hair flowing as her shoulders shook from the laugh. She had recently cropped her hair to barely cover her ears. Ever since she'd grown more confident on herself, not just as a Martian, but as a human being too, she'd ditched the longer hair of the TV Megan Morse, and now looked quite unique. He had been sad that she didn't even tell him about this, choosing to do this by herself, but he'd grown to like the hair.

Not that they'd been talking too much lately. Of course, they still exchanged kisses and whatnot, but it was somewhat forced, as though this was a chore. They barely went on dates anymore, and when they talked, their words were curt and didn't hold too much weight.

"Alright, I think you've had enough training." Nightwing smiled, getting the new guys to collapse on the spot from exhaustion. Of course, fish bait had been exempted from this tiresome exercise because he'd joined a couple of months prior than these guys.

Conner sighed and walked up to the confident flirter, needing to get him away from his girlfriend. "Hey, La'gaan, d'you mind getting some water for these guys, I don't think they can even move."

Even though Dick was now team leader, and directed the missions for them, he was sometimes in charge of training, but that was a job divided with Dick as well, so Conner got to boss around a bit too, but he didn't like the responsibility, so giving orders was a rare moment, which would explain M'gann's confused expression.

"Can we talk?" Conner mumbled as they stood face-to-face.

"Sure thing," she nodded, not moving.

"Alone?"

M'gann nodded again, walking off towards her room, and he followed a few steps behind. She was now nearly his height, and although he knew that it was because Martians grew at a slower pace, he still wondered how long it'd be when she surpassed him too.

"So, what's up?" She asked, turning to him once they were in her room.

"Are we still, you know, together?"

"Well, yes, of course, why?"

"You're always with the fish bait-"

She interrupted, somewhat confused. "Fish bait?"

"Yeah, La'gaan." He shrugged, not bothering to explain the nickname.

"And what's wrong with me being with La'gaan? I am allowed to be with other guys you know."

"Well, sure, but, you're barely spending time with me-"

"You're always off sulking, and not really talking to me, ever since you found out that-"

"That's got nothing to do with this-" He shook his head.

"Isn't it? Conner, I see how you're staring at everyone that you used to know a couple of years ago, and how they're all grown. You barely look at Gar because he's reaching your elbow, and I know it's not because of him being a monkey." She put her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay to be insecure-"

He shook her hand away and turned around, lowering his head. "I'm not though. But I see you and La'gaan together, and he's nearly our age, and-"

"You're jealous then," she concluded, walking up to him.

"No. But would you like to be permanently stuck with a 16 year-old broken clone?"

She ignored his question, and stood a little bit behind him. "Conner, we all grow, things change, you have to accept that. Maybe I am growing to like La'gaan more, but you'll still be my friend."

"We're breaking up then?" He raised his head, turning back to face her.

She wasn't looking at him, but rather focusing on a point in the carpet a bit off to the left, rubbing her hands over her wrists.

He walked out of the room, not waiting for an answer. He didn't think he could stand to hear the answer in one way or another. Even if she had said yes, he'd feel uncomfortable with the situation.

A couple of weeks later, M'gann started dating the fish bait, and Nightwing had turned to his old friend, to see his reaction, but he had already left, walking aimlessly, musing on the young boy that flew around Neverland, who'd never grow up.

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><p><strong>Sooo yeah! I thought it'd be that he broke off with her because she was changing and he was the same, but that doesn't seem to be the reason, more likely it's because of M'gann's tendency to interrogate by lobotomising enemies. Which is a pretty freaky concept once you think about it long enough O_O Hopefully we don't get Megan turning evil on top of Kaldur's seemingly evil turn. Speaking of which, I started a new story! It's called <strong>_An Arrow Straight to my Chest_**, so check it out!**

**So, like I said, a review would be very appreciated, and I'll hopefully be updating more fics soon!**

**Hezpeller**


	6. Traught: Cloud Watching

**Guess who lives!**

**Oh boy, I'm surprised so many people were worried about my well being since it's been so long!**

**Anyway, even though I don't have anything new per se, this is actually 2 months old or something that I had posted on tumblr because of a writing meme, I wanted to show that I am still writing!**

**Moving on, this was a meme where people sent in a pairing or character and a prompt word, and then you had to write a drabble for them!**

**So, zoetekohana requested for a Traught fic and the word pareidolia.**

**Not going to lie, I had to look up the word…I think I got the right meaning of it, at least I hope I did, otherwise, I just wrote something completely different. For those who also don't know, pareidolia is when people are cloud-watching, searching for shapes in the clouds!**

**Of course, knowing me, this "drabble" kinda turned into a 500 word monster but yeaaah, enjoy?**

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><p>"You're being silly, cloud watching?" Artemis stopped walking, letting go of Dick's hand and crossing both her arms, eyebrow raised, making her whole body language scream, are you kidding me?<p>

But of course, Dick wouldn't be easily swayed, so he just cackled, turning around to face her and flash the smile that started it all. "Come on! Don't tell me you never went cloud watching?"

Artemis dropped her pose, hands now going to hug her upper arms, looking away from the bright blue eyes that always made her talk her heart out. "No," she whispered hoarsely, throat becoming dry.

Dick's smile faltered, and he walked up to her, arms outstretched, and Artemis didn't waste a beat before burying herself deeply in his hold, memories of her 'childhood' surfacing.

There was a time where Dick had been the shorter one of the two, but now, having grown up, he felt that he was truly protecting her with his hug. "Hey, come on, I'll show you."

With that, Dick grabbed her hand, and dragged her to the park they were originally headed for.

"I'll wait until I do see a thing." Artemis smirked, running a bit faster to keep up with her boyfriend's pace.

Just as they reached the top of the cliff, Dick slowed his pace, and just as he predicted, Artemis crashed into him, and they both went tumbling down into the grass, with her lying above him.

"Well hello there." Dick never missed an opportunity to flirt, and this was definitely one of those times.

Artemis let out a soft chuckle, rolling her eyes and sliding off him, going to lie beside him, shoulder to shoulder. "Alright, Boy Wonder, what'd you want to show me?" Artemis wasn't going to admit it, but she was secretly very excited for this cloud watching thing.

"I can show you the woooorld" Dick parodied, arms stretching out above him, mimicking a showing gesture. He really did have a beautiful singing voice, and Artemis would be lying if she said she never requested him to sing some ballads.

"Alright alright, now seriously, what's this cloud watching?"

"See that cloud?" Dick gestured to a cloud that was directly above them. "Doesn't that look like a horse?"

Artemis screwed her eyes up, trying to see what he saw. After a couple of minutes, she started seeing the mane, the oblong face, and the tail. "I see it!" Artemis gleefully exclaimed, grabbing Dick's arm.

Dick chuckled, "and see that one? That one's a-"

"Sheep! Oh look! That one could totally pass off as Wolf!"

"And that one looks like a horned sock puppet"

"Nah, that's Batman! See, he's got the frown and everything!"

The two continued laughing into the afternoon, finding the silliest shapes and making up the funniest stories, and when evening came, they sat up, and stayed to watch the sunset. Artemis leaned into Dick's shoulder, and silently whispered, "thanks."

Dick then slipped his hand under her chin, turning her face to meet his and gently kissed her lips, not knowing how else to convey that he might not understand how a parent could take away a kid's childhood like that, but that he wanted to make it up to her, any way possible.

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><p><strong>And thaat was that! Granted it might not be my best one shot here, but I have a soft spot for Traught, since soo many people ship it, I can sort of see the attraction, but I don't ship it quite yet.<strong>

**Anyway, I'm seriously hoping to get the new chapter of How to Date the Girl out sometime soon, I already have 300+ words on it!**

**Oh! I'll also be writing a ginormous fic for YJ Big Bang, 15 000 words at least, and it'll be a Museum Heist AU!**

**Alright, I'm done rambling here, reviews are always welcome, and I'll be updating soon!**

**Hezpeller**


	7. Traught: The Train that'll take you home

**Okay! **

**So this isn't a new story, but rather one I had written as a separate fic, but due to lack of interest, I decided to scrap it, and just lump it here.**

**This is an Inception AU, everyone is slightly older, and it is a Traught fic, and I know it's different from my usually writing of Spitfire, and I swear I haven't given up on it, I just thought those two fit better.**

**I own nothing here!**

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><p>"What is an idea?" Richard Grayson swung his wine glass nonchalantly, flashing his charming smile.<p>

The man at the head of the table didn't answer; in fact, he barely reacted, he instead looked expectantly at the young man who had posed the question, pausing in cutting his dinner, waiting.

Richard, or Dick as he was better known, continued, not daring to let this opportunity go to waste. It was now or never. "It's the most resilient and inflectional virus. Unlike medical or technological viruses, an idea's more permanent. Once it's embedded in the head, it's impossible to remove, and it grows, getting stronger each day-"

Wally West, sitting across the table from Dick, spoke up, clearing his throat, "What my partner here is trying to say is that your thoughts are stored inside your mind; ideas, plans, memories, everything. While you sleep, your subconscious lowers the defenses in your mind, meaning that it's more open for someone to steal your anything from there. The process is called extraction."

"And," the older gentleman went back to cutting his dinner, splitting into a succulent chicken, not showing much enthusiasm for the conversation thus far. "That is where you come in?"

Dick took a swig of the red wine and nodded, glad he was catching on to the idea. "Yes. Mr. Durham, we can train your mind to fend off these attacks from even the most skilled extractors."

Now Mr. Durham reacted, letting out a humourless chuckle. "And how do you suppose you could manage that?"

Dick didn't let the condescending tone of Mr. Durham's question sway him, and without missing a beat, he responded, "Because I _am_ the most skilled extractor." He paused for a second, before continuing, "I know all the tricks for finding where your secrets are stored inside your mind. And I can teach those tricks to you, so you can better prepare yourself and, even if you're sleeping, your defense is never lowered."

When Mr. Durham didn't respond, Dick decided it was time to step up his presentation and add theatrics. He stood up, grabbing the wine glass, adjusting his tie, and more boisterously, he exclaimed, "Mr. Durham, in order for this to work, I need to know how to get around your head better than anyone else. Better than your most trusted confidante, or even your wife!"

Nothing. Not even a twitch of the lips. Damn this guy was tough to crack. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Wally fiddling with his fork, growing restless at Durham's disinterest in their proposition. The man at the head of the table was sipping from his glass, but Dick persisted. "Look, if this was a dream, and you had a safe with all your secrets, I'd need to have full access to everything in there. So if you want my help, you need to completely let me in."

Kaldur Durham was many things, he had heard it all before from the tabloids, ex- business partners, anyone really. But one thing he wasn't, and wouldn't stand being taken for, was an idiot. He grabbed the napkin on his lap, and dabbed his lips, cleaning off any stray morsel there, before pushing his chair back and standing up. "Thank you for this insightful dinner gentlemen, enjoy the rest of your evening, and I'll consider your proposal."

Wally stood up as well, face tense as he watched the doors to the private room open, and Durham walk back into the crowd of the party.

"He knows." He wheeled to face Dick, eyebrows furrowing. "He's-" Wally paused, noting a tremor, making the entire room shake, lights flicker ever so slightly, and the wood panels tremble, like a mini earthquake. He looked up, as if the ceiling or the multiple chandeliers hanging from there would provide the answers, and breathed, "What's going on up there?"

Dick walked around the table, placing the wineglass on the table. "Let's go outside, I need the fresh air." Without waiting for Wally to follow, he walked through the door, made his way through the throng of people, and towards the balconies. As soon as he opened the door, the waft of marine air hit him, the sound of waves helping to clear his mind. It was a clear night, moon shining high, stars glinting outside. Perfect weather for their mission.

"You know he's playing us." Wally walked up to where Dick stood, looking out towards the sea. "We should just get out of here-"

"You know we can't." He turned to face Wally, and grinned. "Besides, he looked right at the safe when I mentioned it. We just need to wait for a bit, and explore the villa."

The red-head shrugged. "If you say so, but I still think something tipped him off and that he's messing with us."

Dick let out his signature cackle walking backwards closer to the railing of the balcony's walkway. "Come on Wally, relax! If anything tipped him off, it was the wine. Rich guy like him would never carry such subpar wine, and let me tell you, that one was terrible! You have terrible taste in wines."

Wally followed his friend to the railing, rolling his eyes and scoffing. "So sue me for not being a wine _con-no-see-ur_." He made sure to butcher the word more than he usually would, just to piss Dick off even more. The raven-haired man shook his head with a smile. Thankfully, some things never changed.

They stood for a few moments in silence watching the waves crash below, until Wally decided to look around to his left, and he groaned internally. He swallowed hard before nudging Dick and turning to face him, muttered, "What the hell is she doing here?"

At seeing the same figure Wally was seeing, Dick sobered up quickly, back straightening and muscles tensing. God, why couldn't she just let him be? He slicked his gelled hair bad even more, and tried to reassure Wally with a grin. "I'll take care of this, you just go and scout the area; stay whelmed, and I'll meet up with you later." Dick patted Wally's shoulder before sidestepping him and walking towards the woman in the forest green dress.

Wally sighed. This was going to end badly. He called out, "Yeah, Dick, we're here on business, remember?" but his words fell on deaf ears, because Dick was too far away by then.

"What brings you here Mr. Grayson? I didn't take you for the type to go to these parties." The woman Dick was walking towards had noticed him, and with a wry smile, she had made Dick want to forget everything about the mission, and spend a couple of hours here with her... or more. Oh he'd give anything- no. Focus.

"Well, I've changed a lot since you last saw me, I've acquired a taste for fancy parties, for starters." Dick had to keep his cool, she knew him too well.

And true to his thought, she started laughing, snorts mixing in with her laughs. "Please, I know you, Richard John Grayson, and you have absolutely no interest in these." She made her way ever so slowly to him, so close he could notice the details in her stormy grey eyes and all the strands of her luscious blonde hair. He was backed up against the railing, and she was getting dangerously close. "So why are you really here?"

* * *

><p>The gunshots raging outside mixed with the explosions and yells of the people running amok outside. In the clear daylight, the fire seemed even brighter than usual. Garth focussed on the three sleeping people in the apartment with him, checking their pulses. They were all stable, and despite the chaos building outside, he hoped it wouldn't clash. He checked Dick's watch, they had time. No problem.<p>

They were in Durham's apartment, and the operation was spread over two rooms. Durham slept on top of his bed, dressed impeccably in a suit, while Wally lounged on a small sofa, and Dick was asleep on a chair, propped on top of a platform. Garth was new to this whole thing, so he didn't quite understand why Dick was in such a position, or why he slept in a chair. But he didn't question them. They paid him well enough, and he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

* * *

><p>"The decor's nice, not exactly what I'd pick out for our living room, but he's got good tastes." It took all of Dick's mental strength to remember they didn't live together anymore, and he muttered a silent curse as he pulled up a heavy leather bound chair to the middle of the room, in line with the bay window.<p>

"To each their own, but I prefer something a bit more colourful." Dick finished his preparations, and cleared his throat. "Would m'lady like to have a seat?"

Artemis chuckled mirthlessly, but still walked up to the chair, and sat down, crossing her legs in a way that made her dress ride up a bit. "What are you planning, Dick?"

With a little shrug, Dick said, "Nothing, just stay put on the chair, and let me do the rest." He took out some thick rope and tied one end to one of the chair legs, trying to focus on the knots, and not on the perfumed dress and gorgeous leg very close to him. He knew from the way she was moving them that she was taunting him. She was really pulling out all the stops today-

"Does she miss me?" Dick fumbled at her question. That was a low blow, and he couldn't work the nerve to reply. Now she had overdone her part, and was starting to cross into more touchy territory. He cleared his throat, and once he checked to make sure the rope was tightly tied, he stood up, and flashed a smile, adjusting his leather gloves. "Just stay traught and wait here, I'll be back in a bit."

Without waiting for her to reply or to complain, he opened the window and, throwing the rope over the edge, he jumped down, using the walls to hold him steady, grateful for the gloves that prevented the rope from chafing his skin.

The wind suddenly blew his bangs up, and he looked down. While most people would be mortified being in his position, he had to smile, because he was no stranger to heights, in fact, he relished looking down from them. Back to his mission, he skipped down, trying to find the right window. He finally found it two flights down, but damn it why was it locked? Wally was supposed to have it unlocked by now! He sighed and started shuffling around his pocket for the window opener, keeping one hand firm on the rope.

Suddenly, he started dropping. He hung onto the rope for dear life as he quickly tried to find some ledge of anything that would stop his free fall into the rocky terrain below. But then, with a whiplash, he stopped. He looked up, and saw that the chair was empty, but its size prevented it from flying through the window, something he was infinitely thankful for. "Damn you Artemis."

He climbed back to the window he had been about to break into, and once he reached it, he took out the contraption that would allow him to unlock the window.

* * *

><p>Wally walked around cautiously, loosening his bowtie, ruffling his hair a bit. He wasn't the biggest fan of hair gel, but fancy dinner parties required that he try to control his wild hair. He suddenly stopped. He heard footsteps behind him so he quickly flattened himself against the wall behind a corner ahead, taking his gun out. The footsteps suddenly stopped and he dared to look around the corner. It was empty, so where did the-<p>

"Now Mr. West, let's not make this hard for either of us. " A gun was pressed against his head, and he recognized the voice all too well.

He let out a chuckle. Maybe he could work his way out of this. After all, he was well-known as a charmer. "Well, it depends-"

"Can it West. I'm not interested and you're testing my patience. " The gun pressed more into his skull, making him wince. "Now, drop the gun and walk." Wally had no choice but to comply, letting go of the gun. It was too early to leave. Dick needed more time, especially since he hadn't been able to unlock the window because the stupid door was locked. Stalling was his best weapon now. Of course she's be immune to his charm, but that didn't mean he couldn't make her life a little bit more complicated.

* * *

><p>Dick finally made his way back to the room where he had dined earlier. The party was done now, so it was much easier to walk around the villa, and the lights much dimmer, so his suit helped to camouflage him. Of course he had to deal with the occasional guard here or there, but it was nothing that couldn't be solved with his gun.<p>

He walked up to the panel that Durham had subtly glanced at while they were talking and, pushing the panel away, he saw the safe. He could finally feel victory become more real. With careful movements, he turned the wheel on the safe, remembering the code's order and numbers. With a click, the safe opened, and inside was the manila envelope they were there for. He folded it and placed it in the inside coat pocket that the decoy envelope had been stashed. With the decoy in hand, he unfurled and was about to place it in the safe, until the lights clicked on.

"Back away from the safe Mr. Grayson." Dick cursed. How did Durham figure it out? "Now."

Gun in one hand and decoy envelop in the other, he backed away to the center of the room, training his gun on the two people standing there in the doorway. One of them was Durham, who had taken off his dinner jacket since the party was over, but was still decked out in a vest and tie. He was unarmed, but Artemis, who stood beside him, held a gun that was just as readily pointed at him. Shit.

It quickly turned to double shit when Wally was dragged inside by two guards, each one having grabbed an arm, holding him still. Artemis turned and the gun that had been pointing at him, was now pointed at Wally. "Please?"

Dick couldn't resist her, especially when she used that tone, and slid the gun half-way across the table, now clear of the dinner dishes that had been left when they were last here. He could feel Wally's metaphorical laser eyes dig craters into his skull, but he paid no attention.

"How'd you figure it out? Or did she tell you?" Dick now addressed Durham, whose pursed lips betrayed nothing.

"Are you referring to the fact that you're here to steal from me, or that we are actually dreaming?" Now he smirked, having pulled out his trump card. Dick didn't think he could curse so much in one day, so he made a mental note to see if he could come up with some new ones afterwards. Kaldur cleared his throat, "Now, the envelope?"

When Dick didn't move, Artemis cocked the gun, training it right against Wally's head. Dick smiled. "Oh come on Artemis, there's no use in threatening him, we can't die in dreams, you know that."

"True, but pain is only a state of mind, so if I do this-" She quickly aimed the gun at his feet and shot there, getting the red-head to yelp in pain, and Dick closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "There, message delivered; now, the envelope?"

Dick let out the breath he was holding, and with a brief glance at Wally, he dived on top of the table, grabbing his gun, and before anyone could react, he shot Wally point-blank on the forehead, 'killing' him. With his leaving, the dream world started collapsing. It had been Wally's dream they were in, so without a host to keep the world intact, the world, and the villa they were in was coming down on top of them.

While everyone was distracted with the falling chandeliers, he bolted through the door, leaving behind the decoy envelope and running to find a spot where he could read the contents of the real envelope, extracting the information he needed.

Durham saw that the envelope was left behind, and he shook his head, it always happened, great legends turned out to be such disappointments.

"I don't see why he'd run, but at least your information's safe." Artemis smiled, passing the envelope to Durham. With a little bow of the head, he accepted it, and opened the envelope, making sure he wasn't missing anything. Clearly Mr. Grayson had indeed gotten one past him; the envelope was a fluke, filled with blank pages. "After him!"

* * *

><p>Wally's eyes snapped open, and without a second to think, he bolted right out of the chair, grabbing the silver briefcase that was on the table beside him, pulling out a cord from it, walking into Durham's room. He set the briefcase down on the floor and opened it, revealing a complicated contraption within.<p>

"What are you doing? It's too soon!" Garth bellowed, trying to make himself heard above the chaos outside.

"The dream is collapsing, but I need to give them more time!" Wally was busy with the briefcase, so Garth dropped the subject, and continued to stand watch as to what happened outside.

* * *

><p>Having ran down a few floors, Dick felt safe enough to skim through the documents he was extracting. He ripped open the envelope, and started poring over its contents. Page after page he read, his frustration growing each minute. These reports were incomplete! They were lacking key facts that would make these make sense!<p>

Gunshots rang around him, guards running towards him, despite the destruction happening around them. He ran away from them, the bullets whizzing past him and adding more to the destruction.

* * *

><p>"This isn't working, wake him up." Wally turned his head back to face Garth's panicked one.<p>

Garth ran to Dick and started shaking him, slapping him, anything. "Nothing's working!"

* * *

><p>Dick picked himself off the floor. Why the hell was he now flying and shaking around like a puppet? If Wally had anything to do with this-<p>

* * *

><p>"Give him the kick!" Wally replied.<p>

"What?" He rolled his eyes at Garth's cluelessness. "Dunk him!" Wally turned his attention back to the briefcase, still trying to deal with the machine inside it. Until, for the second time that day, a gun was being pointed at his head, this time, by Durham himself.

Garth finally realized what the water tub was there for, and tipped Dick over.

* * *

><p>Suddenly, the entire room went quiet. Nothing was crumbling down, nothing stirred, no guns were shooting. It was unsettling, and a shiver ran down his spine, as cliché as that might seem.<p>

Then suddenly the room started shaking, and he started to feel drops splatter on him, until waves of water broke in from everywhere around him, drenching him completely, and begun to engulf him. He had to wake up.

* * *

><p>Time slowed as he fell, until he was fully submerged and started thrashing around, emerging and taking in great gasps of air. He finally woke up!<p>

Garth didn't notice the man approaching him until it was too late. Durham wrapped his arm around Garth's throat, suffocating the other man, while still keeping Wally at bay with the gun's barrel, but Garth threw a good fight, and at the opportune moment that they approached the bathtub, Dick sprung out and tackled Durham, and between the two, they managed to subdue him.

* * *

><p>As Kaldur came to, Dick fiddled with the gun Durham had hidden in under his pillow. A clever trick. "You were prepared."<p>

It wasn't a question, so Kaldur ignored it, pressing on with his own questions, even though he was their captive. "How did you come across this apartment? Not even the head of my security knows about this."

Dick smirked. "Well, the thing is that a man of your stature can't really keep things a secret for too long, particularly with a married woman."

"She'd never-" Kaldur touched the ring on his left hand, thinking of Tula.

"And yet, here we are." Dick raised his arms with an air of finality. Now it was time to get into the matter at hand. "Mr. Durham, you clearly were expecting us. You had a gun hidden under your pillow, and your papers were edited. So why'd you let us in at all?"

"It was an audition." Kaldur shifted in his chair, expression growing more serious.

Wally and Garth exchanged looks, but Dick kept his full attention on Durham. "A-an audition? For-...for what?"

Kaldur shook his head. "It does not matter, you failed."

Dick and Wally exchanged looks of confusion. Dick cleared his throat and sat up straighter in his chair. It was hard to keep the confusion out of his voice while he responded. "We extracted every piece of information there, how-"

The older man interrupted him, shaking his head. "Your deception was obvious. You claimed too much and I, Mr. Grayson, am not a fool." Kaldur smirked a bit at Dick's slight falter in his composure. "So leave now, and I'll consider forgetting this and not pressing charges."

Wally turned back outside, and saw the locals getting closer to the apartment; they were a few feet away at best. "Hey Dick, hurry it up."

Dick sighed, "Alright, time for the direct approach." He grabbed Durham by the scruff of his suit and pulled him onto the ground, cocking the gun. In a much gruffer voice, he demanded, "Tell us what you know, now!"

Kaldur landed on the white carpet that had been at his feet a few seconds before, and when he passed his hand over it in order to get back up, it felt different than the one he was accustomed to. He let out a laugh, one that confused the other three men in the room. Of all the reactions they expected, this was nowhere close to their expectations. "I've always hated this carpet, but Tula insisted on it, and made me feel the fabric a million times. She loves wool, and a wool carpet was all she wanted; but this, this is polyester, which means, I'm still dreaming."

* * *

><p>Raquel checked her watch. 30 seconds to go, it was time to sound the signal. She stood up from her seat, dropping the magazine she was reading, and walked over to the seats to the other side of the aisle. The train's lurches didn't faze her as she took out a silver suitcase with a complicated machine inside it. In the digital display, a timer showing 27 seconds bleeped every second in a countdown. She grabbed the mp3 player in her pocket and placed it over Garth's ears, and pressed play just as the timer beeped 25.<p>

* * *

><p>You could barely hear it, but Wally was used to the song, they were running out of time. He looked at Garth, who had also heard the faint, distorted melody of the song. However, Dick and Durham were enthralled in their conversation, so neither noted the external and out of place song. "Dick..."<p>

Dick nodded, ears perking to the slowed music. He turned back to face Durham, who was now standing up. "A dream within a dream! I must retract my earlier conclusion, Mr. Grayson, you indeed live up to your expectations, and yet, as impressed as I am, I will not reveal anything."

Dick grimaced, his patience wearing thin. "You don't understand our situation Mr. Durham. The company that hired us won't take failure as an answer, and they'll chase us down to get them the information they need."

"Then let them be disappointed! I have no care for your, or your team's well-being." He turned his eyes to where the red-head had been standing a few seconds before. They were now three.

* * *

><p>Like an alarm beep, it woke Wally up, and he quickly assessed the situation and set to work.<p>

"How'd it go?" Raquel asked, moving to take the seat that Wally had just vacated, switching spots so that Wally was now crouching in front of the suitcase. The music still played in Garth's ears, and Wally braced himself as the train lurched.

* * *

><p>"And, Mr. Grayson, when you're in my dream, you play by my rules." The smirk grew wider, Grayson was losing ground in this battle.<p>

"Ah, but you see Mr Durham..." Garth smiled, hearing footsteps trampling up the steps. "We're in mine." The door burst open and people ran inside, running them over with their sheer numbers and force.

* * *

><p>Dick pinched the bridge of his nose. How did this get so crazy? Meanwhile Garth scrambled awake, blinking rapidly. Durham was still asleep, still under the effects of the sleeping agent.<p>

"Nice job genius, how could you mess up the carpet!" Wally exclaimed, in complete disbelief that the carpet's material could mess this entire operation up.

Garth spluttered. "How the hell was I supposed to know that he'd crash face-first on it?"

Wally shook his head. "You're the architect, you need to know these sort of things! And you," He turned to Dick, who was checking Durham's pulse. "What was that all about?"

Dick didn't need Wally to explain, and neither did he want to deal with that now. "I have it under control."

Wally scoffed, smiling ever so slightly. "I'd hate to see it out of control."

"This isn't going to work, I'm getting off at Union." Dick stood up, grabbing his suitcase from the overhead compartment, and taking out a large wad of cash from his pocket. "Every man," he looked at Raquel's raised eyebrow. "Er, woman too, for themselves." He threw the cash to Raquel to divvy up.

"He's not going to check all the compartments." Wally really didn't understand Dick's tension.

"Yeah well, I don't like trains." Dick gave a curt nod to Garth and Raquel, before walking to the front of the compartment. Wally packed up the suitcase and followed suit.

A while later, Kaldur stirred, waking up. He looked around and only saw a young African American woman reading a magazine. He looked out the window and smiled. He had found his man.

* * *

><p><strong>Mkay! So I think everyone's getting the gist of who's who right? And I hope the cuts weren't too abrupt, I tried to make it somewhat jarring, but still creating a flow, not sure it worked. <strong>

**And, like I said, this story isn't being continued, I hope everyone enjoyed it nonetheless.**

**Now, I have a poll up, because I have two other fics that I started, but am not sure if people are interested in having them continue, and I'd love it if you guys could input your opinion.**

**Let me know what you think! **

**Hezpeller**


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